Category Archives: Photography

My Workflow

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I love digital photography. In fact, I enjoy all aspects of the digital process. It reminds me of the days I spent in college behind the camera’s viewfinder on an assignment, in the darkroom developing the film and printing my enlargements, and mounting the photos on matte boards.

Lightroom is my software of choice for most of my workflow procedures. My good friend and photo colleague, Dick McCreight, was the one who showed me firsthand the power of Lightroom. It doesn’t hurt that it is also easy to use, too.

Once back from a photo shoot, I hook up my card reader to my laptop and upoad the photos. I rename the files with the date of the shoot & a sequential number for each photograph. This provides a unique filename for each one. I also make sure to add the metadata with my information on the upload.

Then in Lightroom I go through the photos and tag the keepers. I don’t worry about tagging the rejects; just the keepers, because I will only be working with the keepers. I also tag any photos I think might need some editing with a red colored tag. Once my keepers have been established, I go back through them and mark the ones I want to put up on my website with a green tag. At this point I try to remember to create a collection of these photos. Then I go into the Web module and create the web page gallery. All that’s left to do is upload the gallery to my website.

When I receive print orders, the process continues with me using the Print module to crop and then export the file to send to my photo lab. I have also started creating photo books, so in this case I will create another collection of the photos I want included in the book and then export them for the printer.

I am learning to streamline the process and I enjoy each step along the way. It is so enjoyable to see the photograph I made come to life step by step!

What is your workflow? Are there some tips you have to share? Leave a comment so we can all learn together how to perfect our workflow strategies.

Online Photo Galleries

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Sharing photographs online in a gallery is a common thing for most photographers to do. It allows a photographer to show photographs with others in a convenient way and allows the viewer to browse through the gallery and see the photo. It seems like a win-win situation.

This might be the case if it weren’t for a few bad apples intent on stealing photographic images without permission. This is becoming an increasing problem and is forcing photographers to reconsider the wisdom of posting photos on an online gallery.

Using watermarks on photographs is one way to fight against this problem, but they do not totally solve the problem. Many people think that if something is posted on the internet then it must be free for the taking. This is obviously not true. But many people don’t care. They steal and misuse the photos anyway.

Do you enjoy viewing online galleries? What do you think about the use of watermarks? Should photographers be forced to take extra care in protecting their creative property?

As usual, the internet is both a blessing and a curse. A photographer can easily share photos with others, but runs the risk of having those photos illegally taken.

What do you think about all this?

Good Photo Guidelines

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Many of you may have heard a variety of photography rules over the years. Do not cut the photograph in half with the horizon line. Think about the rule of thirds and place your subject at one of these intersecting lines instead of dead in the center of the photograph. Move in closer to your subject. Ask yourself, “What is the main subject in this photo and why am I making this composition? Focus on the eye.

Do any of these basic guidelines sound familiar?

Some people prefer to be rebellious, color outside the lines, and break the rules. This can and is certainly done with photography guidelines, but understanding them first is an absolute essential. Well, at least in my humble opinion. There are many ways to learn about photography and be a good photographer, but learning the basic guidelines and fundamentals will provide a solid foundation for any aspiring photographer

Do you know the photo fundamentals? Are you willing to take a workshop to learn more. I lead a photo trip with my good friend, Dick McCreight, where we provide photographers excellent opportunities to photograph the Pennsylvania Elk. Throughout the 3-day photo trip, we experience many excellent teaching moments and have opportunities to teach and learn more about photography. These photo trips are a lot of fun for us photographers to be together and learn from each other. You can find more information about these photo trips here: http://www.bobshankphotography.com/PA%20Elk%20Experience/index.htm

Check it out and sign up for one of our upcoming photo trips. You will learn some of the basic photography fundamentals and have a great time with some other photographers!

Being Creative

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I was never a student who enjoyed art class. As a matter of fact, I dreaded art class. Don’t get me wrong, I understood the importance of being cultured, but for a boy growing up in the midst of farms country music was our idea of being cultured. I also actually enjoyed making the clay mug or whatever I called the object I formed with my own hands, but when it came to drawing or painting, my lack of creativity came out in glowing colors!

For a long time I thought I wasn’t creative. Then in college I took my first photography class and learned a whole new medium with which to be creative. Now, I thought, being creative might just be possible for me. I still struggled and our photo professor was brutal. Very few of our images were acceptable to him. At the time, I just chalked it up to my lack of creativity. But in hindsight, I believe it was more formative to me than I first realized.

Now I thoroughly enjoy being creative with my camera. This medium speaks to me and I attempt to use photography to speak to others. It is one avenue to being creative and I love it. Being creative is possible in any number of areas.

Are you being creative with your photography?

New Ventures

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“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

That’s the old saying, right?

So many people get stuck in the same old routine. They do the same thing the same way over and over and over again. The predictability is nauseating. Change is not only not easy for some people, it’s downright impossible!

Photographers run the risk of repeating this tired routine. Remember when digital cameras first came out? The laggards and naysayers were spouting off frequently about how digital photography was not true photography. They claimed that digital prints would never rival film prints or even be in the same class. Time has proven them wrong, and yet some extremely reluctant photographers refuse to change their methods.

So, what about you? Are you willing to try something new? Are you an early adapter or a sluggard, I mean laggard? Do you prefer to keep doing things the same old way or do you try new ways of doing things?

I have recently been doing some new things to stretch me and there are more new things forthcoming in the near future for me. I embrace these new endeavors as exciting possibilities to learn new things. After all, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”

Albums

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The other day I mentioned that printing photographs is a good thing to do. It sure beats leaving digital photos in a hard drive never to be seen again.

So, what do you do once your photograph is printed?

There are several options. First, you could frame the print and hang it on a wall. Or you could take the prints and display them in an album. Prints are made to be seen. Hanging a print on a wall is a good way to keep it visible and in front of people’s eyes; even your own. When you are proud of a photograph doesn’t it make sense to keep it visible and have a constant reminder of your creative efforts?

I am currently assembling a proof album for a family. The album will display the photographs in an attractive way so the family can view the memories whenever they choose. The album will be a good way to re-live the memories that are on the printed photographs.

Assembling albums and framing photographs might seem like a laborious task sometimes, but the effort is definitely worth it. Give it a try yourself. Print some photographs and assemble them into an album. Or, frame some prints and hang them on a wall where they can be displayed for everyone to see. After all, photographs are meant to be seen!

What Do You Look for in a Photograph

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The saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

What do you look for in a photograph? Do you look for a particular composition? Do you prefer leading lines or symetry in a photograph? What about subjects; what subjects do you prefer to see in a photo? Do you like the orientation to be portrait or landscape, or does it depend on the situation? Do  you like color or black and white prints? Digital or film?

The beautiful thing about photography is that as the photographer you can create your own style by what you include or choose not to include in a photo. You are the master of the art you are making so you can include whatever you like. So, what are you going to include?

The film or the digital sensor is like a blank sheet of paper. This is kind of similar but in an opposite way to a block of stone. The sculptor creates his or her art by chopping away what doesn’t need to be there. Conversely, the photographer starts with a blank frame of film or digital sensor and has to add to it.

Some argue that you have to see a photograph before you make it. I am not sure I completely agree with this statement all the time. Sure, we have to have a photographic eye, but sometimes working a subject can lead to compositions that I might not have seen at first. What I first look for may lead to other ideas and even additional subjects. Getting in the grove or creating momentum can certainly help us reach our goals in creating photographs that others will find pleasing to view.

Ultimately, it is what you look for and prefer to photograph that matters. You are the artist or the composer, if you will. So, what are you looking for in your next photograph?

The Photography Learning Curve

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Just when you think you are an accomplished photographer able to meet any demand, you suddenly find  yourself wondering what could have gone wrong with your most recent shoot. Maybe you purchased a new piece of photo equipment and it had a surprise or two up its sleeve for you! Or maybe the lighting conditions were atrocious and left you totally bewildered.

These things happen to all of us. Believe me, humility goes a long way in photography and it does a photographer good not to get over confident. Adaptability and a yearning to keep learning is the name of the game.

There are a couple tips worth mentioning to help avoid a major catastrophe. First, check your camera before you leave for a shoot. It may be stating the obvious, but be sure your batteries are charged and the memory card is formatted. Also be sure to check the menu settings to be sure they are exactly where you want them. While this is blatantly obvious, all it takes is forgetting to do this one time and you’ll be sure to never forget this again.

A second tip is practice before the big day. Practicing a technique before applying it is imperative. It is much easier to experiment on your own instead of in front of your client. Use a stuffed animal and attempt to replicate similar lighting conditions. Take your time and practice, practice, practice. Go over each and every detail. Take notes, too. This will be time well spent and will perhaps save you some bad surprises later.

One final tip is evaluate your photos as you go. In other words, take a peek at your photos now and then during the shoot. This is the beauty of digital photography. You can see if what you are doing is working or not. And if it’s not, then you can make the necessary corrections.

The photography learning curve can be steep at times. The effort to keep learning is definitely worth it. So, keep learning; curves and all!

The Exposure Stool

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The three legs of the exposure stool are ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. These three variables work together to control the light that records an image. Shutter speed and exposure work in a reciprocal way–as one goes up, the other goes down. For example, when your exposure calls for a shutter speed of 1/125 and an aperture of 5.6, the same exposure can be achieved with a shutter speed of 1/500 and an aperture of 8.

This reciprocal relationship is helpful when you want to blur out the background of a photograph to emphasize the subject. By shifting to a larger aperture like 2.8 to decrease the depth of field, you then decrease the shutter speed to keep the proper exposure. The reverse is also true: if you need a faster shutter speed for fast-moving action, you can decrease the aperture opening and thereby use a faster shutter speed. Pretty neat, huh?

Higher ISO settings are needed when you reach the limit of aperture or shutter speed. When there isn’t enough light, there is a point when you cannot open up the aperture or decrease the shutter speed any more. The solution is to increase the ISO.

The three legs of the exposure stool work together to allow a variety of creative ways to get proper exposure.

New Photography Ideas

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I firmly believe that photographers need to always be looking for new ideas and inspiration. Photography is an art form that require this. Becoming stale is the fear of many artists. Success is met with both elation and some amount of trepidation. The feelings of elation are pretty much self-explanatory, but with every success comes the worry of where the next new idea will come from and will it be better than the last?

So where do you get new ideas?

We have a lot of resources available today to find inspiration and new photographic ideas. Other photographers, magazines, the internet, and podcasts are all places we can find inspiration and cultivate new ideas to enhance our photography. These are all places I frequent often to get new ideas. My iPod allows me to take podcasts with me so I can listen to them wherever I go. I gain plenty of new insights this way. Photographer’s websites and photo galleries are another place to receive inspiration.

Where do you go for new ideas?